25 posts tagged LA graffiti girls

My name is Timoi. I became active in 1995; although drawing had always been part of my life it wasn’t until I moved to Los Angeles from Guatemala in 1990 that I was introduced to Graffiti art. I couldn’t keep my eyes from the art on the freeways, windows, poles, billboards, letters and characters telling stories.

Surreptitious graffiti is what inspired me the most, I cannot tell you names of the artists on auto shops and liquor stores because I don’t remember them. What always caught my attention was the art on heavens, the fwy walls, tags on poles, street lights and phone books.

I believe the tag is a seed that can one day become a beautiful fruitful tree if given the opportunity.

Ayer LTS defined graffiti for me; I didn’t grow up on graffiti magazines or books so I based everything on what I saw on my daily commute in LA. Growing up in LA county I was really inspired by crews like LTS, KOG, TKO, MSK, AWR, WCA, RTN and artists like Tribe, Zes, Retna, Gkae, Chaka, Oiler, Cre8, Mear, Verse, Aybon, Atlas, Klean and Revok.  

Other artists in the graffiti realm I admire are Banksy, Saber, Lady Pink, Jerk, Jel, Aroe Msk, Cope2, Indie184, Craola, Rime, ROID, Kween, Askew, Ezra, Chor Boogie, Augor, Apex, Risk, Seak, Os Gemeos, Nina, Vulcan, Chaka, Charlie DTK, Dream DTK and many others. The reason why I like these artists as well is because they define graffiti and spray can art to me. As simple or intricate these artists are passionate about what they do/did.

I really enjoyed these crews and artists growing up because they put in work in the streets. The higher up or the more difficult it looked the more inspired I got. What still drives me today is the rush of getting away with painting whatever I want on the wall. Politics and freedom of speech drive me as well. I do it because it gives me balance, because I love letters/characters and because it feels great and it feels right.

I believe that through my characters I display my femininity and through my letters I display my masculinity. I do understand that in order to thrive in the graffiti scene one must camouflage oneself because some men don’t know how to act around feminine women.

I do not allow myself to be limited by what others might consider good or bad ‘for a girl.’ Such comments usually come from ignorant individuals who just don’t know any better. 

Only through time and through painting does one acquire style and I believe my work speaks for itself and its more known than me.

My best experiences painting have been my sola missions. Dressing up like a boy, giving away my beer and conversing with the homeless. One night I was so under the influence, not only did I paint the worse piece on a busy street rooftop I also broke off the T to the shops sign as I was falling to the ground; I lost my breath and I probably laid on the floor for a couple of minutes. It was a big fail! Drinking is only good for dancing.

My favorite bomb was one I did on a billboard on the side of a fwy; I remember I did a character and a Timoi followed by DIE the crew I was pushing at the time. I was pretty much toy still at the time in 2003 but what I loved most was the missions. 
The billboard was ridiculously high and the “We are here to serve and protect you” people station was just around the corner. I felt invincible after coming down from it until the next day as I was driving to work I got to take a picture of it getting buffed, maybe if I wasn’t such a toy it would have lasted at least a couple of days. I have several favorite ones yet as raw as they might be I enjoy my missions the most.

I had the most fun from 1995 to 2003 until I got caught. To this day I still believe that if I would have gone on that mission alone I wouldn’t have gotten caught. Luckily I was only in jail for two days and with the help of a friend lawyer my case was dropped, unfortunately in the process I lost my tools and black books. Although that didn’t stop me from still doing what I loved it did make me think twice so at that time I began to inquire about  painting legal walls and soon after I moved to San Bernardino where I began my legal wall painting. At this point I began to explore more of the spray can technique and brand choices. I have been painting walls with permission since 2004 and since I have painted along side some amazing artists and shared much nicer work and introduced the Killer Calo Series to a bigger audience.

I share my art on walls with other artists as well as I paint my own walls. I have also participated at the BBoy BBQ in San Diego and Meeting of styles in NYC and LA. I now also do canvas art work that I display and sell at galleries and various art events. As of now I have had several solo shows and plan to continue growing in this realm. I had my first gallery show in 2002, curated my first show “WITHIN” in 2005 and 2007 along with other small shows. I am also occasionally invited to paint live, conduct workshops or participate in graffiti art panels. I have a couple theme shows coming up.

I follow graffiti on the street whether it is toy or not, I love to see toys evolve on the freeways and key areas that are without permission. That is freedom.

Unfortunately the price to pay to beautify city property is higher than the price to pay for real crimes. 

Instead of criminalizing graffiti artists, we should be given scholarships and grants to grow. 

The city should be grateful to house super talented and skilled artists. As we all know prolific graffiti writer Revok just got arrested and without bail, with as much money corporations are making out of graffiti writing culture, this artist should be compensated not incriminated. $320, 000 should be the price of one of his paintings. Unfortunately Revok is not the only artist in Jail unjustly. There are also others. And some very young, doing time that real criminals should be doing.

How do you feel as a female in a majorly male dominated culture?
Personally it has been a lonely road; not only have I always been very quiet and mainly observant of my surroundings, I have also been very stubborn. The older I got the harder it got to have painting partners and the criticism of women in graffiti didn’t make the scene welcoming for me. If guys weren’t trying to get with me because of graffiti, they thought I wanted to get with them. Perhaps I have fallen in love with a couple but it wasn’t the couple that made me fall in love with graffiti. Graffiti and I have a very personal and lasting relationship and it very seldom has anything to do with other writers. I have been blessed to be recognized by respectable individuals, organizations and publications and it feels good. I like doing things 100% and graffiti is part of my life. Graffiti might not be a serious matter to most but to some of us it’s our life, I don’t know any other way to live and I don’t want any other way to live.

Although I knew there were risks I would take on my sola missions, I preferred that from rolling with a bunch of male writers and claiming my fame to their names. The names I mention are because I truly admire their work, not because I have painted with them or I am claiming to know them. Fortunately, I have been blessed enough to meet artists who have, even if shortly, shown me techniques and given me advice and constructive criticism that have made me grow a whole lot.

I love Graffiti and there is no doubt or fear about it. Graffiti is my life and being a female is like the ‘a la mode’ on an apple pie.

Even now days there are a lot of females that get up surreptitiously who get a lot less recognition than some of these legal yard junkies. As soon as a female gets some recognition she has to be broken down by a society of males and male cheer leaders. If it’s not one thing it’s another. One of the latest ridiculously talented female artist is Mad C, regardless of her talent and skill there are other lesser talented males getting more recognition than her. Talent and skill has nothing to do with gender when given equal opportunities. 

What are your views on graffiti art being displayed in galleries? Do you think this legitimizes graff, or commercializes it?
This question gives me a bit of a headache. I think it’s great having graffiti art in galleries and I think it does legitimize graffiti art but only in the gallery scene. The fact that galleries and even museums today are showcasing graffiti art doesn’t stop city officials from criminalizing anyone with the passion for graffiti. 

As corporations profit from the commercialization of graffiti, the ones who are practitioners of the art who profit from their own culture are seldom. 

Are you involved with any community, nonprofit or artist organizations?
Currently I am the president of Mujeres Iniciando en las Americas, an organization that focuses on the eradication of violence against women in Gautemala by providing empowering and educational workshops and resources to Kids, women and men with the hopes to bring change from Washington DC to all the corners of Guatemala and beyond, visit us at miamericas.info. I also have a group show brewing called “Industrial Minds” Life, Love and Rust which profits will go to fund these workshops being conducted in Guatemalas schools and Police Academies. One of the latest Art organizations I have been a part of is Room 13, which is grass roots, self sustainable art program at a public school. Currently I am not doing much with Room 13 yet it is an organization I support and encourage other artists to do as well. They welcome artists from all walks of life to visit and participate in studio time. I have also collaborated with Self Help Graphics.

Anything else you’d like to share with our readers?
Well, thank you, LAGraffitiGirls.com for the light and for providing a space for the ladies in the game. I want to thank TheHigherPath.com for sponsoring the latest mural. I want to thank two very special and supportive brothers, DJ Ethos (djethos.com) and Pep Williams (Pepwilliamsphotography.com).

Shout outs to Jeyd, 3030, Bash, Oiler, Zamer, Eriberto Oriol, Angelica Oriol, Chor Boogie, Pose 2, B.A, Fawksie, Dose LBC, Trust Your Struggle, Earthstones, Cope 2, Indie 184, Melissa Chiprin, M.I.A, LA, NYC, MIAMI, SF, Droopy and Ana, Allegra, Paola, Hush and all my Fam… Thanks for all the support. 

To learn more about Timoi, visit timoi.com!
Photos Credit/thanks: Pep Williams, Roger Steffens, Lucy Castro, Eriberto Oriol  

“I started painting in ‘86. 
I was a skater girl. Well, I still am, you won’t find me riding ramps and pools anymore, but you still might catch me skating Venice. 
Some of my skater friends were taggers and it caught the ‘mischevious’ and attention in me. Back then, my nickname was ‘Fire’. Even all my teachers called me that. So you could say I already had a ‘tag name’. 
My mom couldn’t quite jump on that one, but she thought it was cool though.
Then one day, I was cruising through Westwood on the bus, looking at all the college houses and then I saw an Omega sign and right then I knew that would be my name…That’s me.”

“Besides my lil’ stint of being my one girl crew I am UTI and will always and only be UTI! I am VERY old school on this. So I hope I don’t offend anybody but this is MY philo! I don’t preach it, I just live it.
I love my crew and I believe in having only one crew. I believe that scattering yourself all over the place just lowers a loyalty level. I am extremely loyal to my family and friends.”

“When the UTI’s asked me in the crew I was surprised. I appreciated that they saw my talent. (And I got in the crew on my art, NOT my ass!)
Skilly, Snap, Seltic, Master, Smurf, Ghost, Dash 2000 were some of the main guys then and of course, yes of course…. Pester.  I say that because he was the only one against me being in the crew strictly because I was a girl. 
The guys told me later, he was like ‘No girls in UTI’ and walked out. But he was outvoted and I ‘secretly’ began to rock harder to prove to that him that I was a true UTI. He made me push myself. I thank him for that and totally love him for it, but we laugh about it now.”

“Even when I was figuring out my tag style back in the day I was thinking ‘flow’ and ‘dynamics’, like the way a sick rif in a song moves you. 
I am a letter bender. I do characters too, but I see letters and they transform in my mind. Like a roller coaster, taking you all over the place, making you feel safe at times and then.. KAPOW! The big ups and downs.”

“I want to move and shock people with my art, make them think and try to figure out what the hell they are seeing.  And when they figure it out…it’s like an ‘ooooohhhh’ moment.”

“My name was EVERYWHERE in the valley. And before I knew better, I wrote over people. I didn’t tell anybody that I was Omega though. And then I’d be hanging out with my skater/tagger friends and they were going to town about this ‘Fucking Omega’ that was mobbing and tagging over them. It is so funny to me now, I had no idea it was such a huge diss! So I was like ‘Uh yeah, I heard Omega was this big super buff guy that doesn’t care who he kills or writes over!’
That was so funny. Especially when I finally told them it was me.”

Describe your most favorite bomb or piece that you’ve done. Why was it your favorite?
My all time favorite bomb was my piece with Skate CBS at the Sanborn yard because it is sentimental to me. We did a fish theme. I did letters, he did a chill fish. It was so fun painting with him. We were very good, dear friends.  I can honestly say that I loved him as my friend. He died very shortly after that. I miss him very much.

“My style is very definitive.  Again, I think ‘outside’ the box. 
I developed the ‘honeycomb’ style. It is very flattering to see other people do it. 
That came from the Ankh that I was very into for a minute. My pieces are vibrant, contrasting, they move and take you to a different place.  As far as being ‘girly’ or not, sometimes I use a heart for my ‘O’ or whatever, but that’s not simply because I’m a girl. My style is me.  You will always know an ‘OMEGA’ piece. And going back to the old school philo… THAT’S WHAT IT’S SUPPOSED TO BE!”

Who are your inspirations?
“Besides my amazing UTIsters. I love Mando’s work, Mear and Vyal. They definitely think outside the box and that’s what captures me.
Do something different and make it DOPE! 
Back in the day I loved AM7, he doesn’t go by it anymore, but KRENZ was and is still…SICK! I loved the way they’d to billboard takeovers! Banksy is also an artist I admire too for that reason.  Also, and sadly to say, the late and truly artistically great Dash 2000 UTI. I loved his work. Again, my dear friend. We’d come up with ALL kinds of crazy ideas for walls that lit up or moved when you walked by. But you still have to keep it graff and not commercial…..crazy ass Dash.  I miss him too. 
I also like female graff artist Asia.  She has a mad letter style. I like it!”

How do you feel as a female in a majorly male dominated culture?
“The fact is, us females have to do at least 10 SICK AS HELL pieces to get the same accolades and respect as a guy who does one. I used to always hear the guys behind me talking, ‘That’s dope for a girl…” But then it turned into, “That’s dope!’
That felt good.”

What are your views on graffiti art being displayed in galleries? Do you think this legitimizes graff, or commercializes it?
“I think you have to decide personally what you want to do with your art.  As kids we were all renegade. Racking, bombing, mobbing.  As adults, we go….oh damn…..can’t (shouldn’t) do that anymore. How can I make a living off of what I love?  Is that not what other people do?  There is nothing wrong with that. Rock your world!  The underground culture of hip hop, graff, breaking, DJ, and rhyme will always continue!  But when was the last time love put food on your table and paid your rent? OK!”

Tell us a random fact about you. 
“I’ve been training in the martial arts for almost four years now. I’m a green belt - very close to brown, in American Kenpo. I train in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. I also train in Eskrima and FMA which is sticks (which represent baseball bats, clubs, crow bars), knives and gun disarms. Me and my husband own a martial arts school, Kenpo Karate Evolution.  We also teach a teen girls’ and woman’s self defense class free on the first Sunday of each month. And besides all that ninja stuff….I’m a Zumba instructor!  Oh, yaaaaaaa!

I am also married to most amazing man of all time! He is everything I could even have imagined and more than I ever thought could be. I do a LOT of things! And he ‘gets’ me on all of it! Especially my graff.  That’s a deal breaker for me if that doesn’t happen! I cannot tell you how much that means to me. FINALLY someone who can understand that I am feminine and love to get dolled up and has a successful career (I was in PR and marketing for entertainment/red carpet events, etc.) and be wined and dined AND, hold up…….wait for it……….. totally bust a spray can and get rough too! VERY important to me! My husband rocks!”

Anything else you’d like to share with our readers?
“Yes, There is some guy in the bay area writing Omega. He contacted me about three years ago on MySpace with the most STUPID intro I have EVER seen…‘Hey what’s up Omega, we’re putting work in for the same name…. blah, blah…freakin..blah!’  I replied to this guy to do his damn homework!  You cannot just take someone’s name! 

Let’s all start bombing ‘SKILL’ or ‘DAZE’, or how about we all start breaking and call ourselves ‘CRAZY LEGS’, and popppin’ and start callin’ ourselves ‘Mr. Wiggles?!’
Hey, there’s an idea! So, yes, I called him out. I will battle him ANY DAY! He is NOT OMEGA, and never will be! Come to L.A. and FIND OUT WHO OMEGA UTI IS!”

THE COLLABORATIVE: A PROJECT OF THE ARTS COUNCIL FOR LONG BEACH AND THE MUSEUM OF LATIN AMERICAN ART

April 30 - July 24, 2011

This exhibition, co-curated by MOLAA Curator Idurre Alonso and Slanguage Founders Mario Ybarra Jr. and Karla Diaz, focuses on representing current strategies for artistic production derived and influenced by urban and street art including graffiti, stencil and stickers. The exhibition is comprised of two multi-mixed media installations by artists aka, Acamonchi from Tijuana, Mexico, and Los Angeles-based artist aka, Perl from the graffiti female collective FDS (From the Streets). Both of the invited artists share a similar concern for utilizing artistic tactics of research-based projects, documentation and investigation. The exhibition redefines the traditional approach to street art/graffiti as a practice that is meant to be singled-out from its place and context, exclusive to an insider audience, and breaks the conception of urban art as a male dominated art form that rarely addresses gender issues on its content. Perl researches and documents any kind of historical building, streets, neighborhoods, old signs, landmarks, alleys, or abandoned buildings for her artistic practice. She uses the research to develop blog posts, photos, walking tours, among other forms of cultural production. On the other hand Acamonchi, who launched the first Mexican Mail Art website in 1995 and became known for his downloadable stencils, has been using street installation and graffiti as a critical forum. Acamonchi was heavily influenced by images in old magazines, fanzines and the skateboard-punk countercultures; his work usually addresses gender issues including a critical view of the notion of “the ideal woman” commonly promoted by the media.

Exhibition Opening, April 30, 7:00 - 10:00pm
(Free onsite parking for the opening)

The Collaborative is located at 421 W. Broadway Ave., Long Beach, CA 90802
Hours: 11:00am - 5:00pm, Wed. - Sun.

1.    What’s your graff name? How did you get or come up with your name? What crews have/are you in?

I write/wrote KAIR

I came up with my name because it sounded neutral, plus my homie sat down with me and I mostly picked out letters I felt were easy to draw, I always felt my name was easy to paint and the letters flowed.  I was put down with DCV ( Def Crown Villains) because my homie FEAR. We met at a wall after I had been painting for awhile  and stuck by him for a minute and got put down shortly after, at the time I was the youngest from our crew. Big shout out to the whole crew.

2.     When did you begin painting? What or who inspired you to paint graff? Why do you do it?

The first time I had ever seen graffiti was in second grade, for a summer trip my family drove a van from California to Maine. So I seen the most in New York, I had no clue it was graffiti just it looked dope, better than just plain walls. I started tagging at 14 with a different alias.  I was the only girl in my area that I knew painted at the time, I mostly just tagged with streaks and drew on slaps because the dudes I chilled with were mostly into just drawing in blackbooks. I remember looking through a blackbook and seeing a JROZ piece and I always thought it was a guy until my homies was like na it’s a female. After seeing her pieces I wanted to paint on walls. Also, when my mom would drive towards LA I would be stuck staring at tags, bombs and pieces where ever I went. I never seen anyone paint with cans and I was just drawn to it. I was always an awkward kid into shit others knew nothing about, I liked having that knowledge over people. Until I met my homie and biggest influence ROTEN SKA, he showed me I knew jack shit and I was just a toy and needed to step up my game.  So thanks!

3.     Are you a graff writer or a graff artist or just and artist? Is there a difference?

I wouldn’t even know, I never knew what the hell I was doing. I just liked bombing on walls. I liked seeing my name big and tags, stickers didn’t do much for my ego.  I think there’s a difference, but the whole technical side of graff trying to dissect it for readers to understand is lame.  But in a nutshell yeah.

4.     Is it important as a graff writer to fulfill the illegal aspect of graff ( tagging, bombing)?

It depends what you’re trying to accomplish and what you want out of it. Personally, yeah I think you do. I wouldn’t see if you want to get in the scene and get respect from the people who paved the way, why you would skip out on all the work they did to get where they’re at. Yeah, your shit looks pretty… big deal, who are you? I don’t get why you wouldn’t do illegal graffiti? That’s the best part, who wants to sit at a legal wall your whole life and have a couple people say it looks dope. My memories and stories and adventures are more fulfilling then some person telling me its cool. The illegal aspect is the only reason why I ever was thrilled about it.

5.     Describe your most favorite bomb or piece that you’ve done. Why was it your favorite?

My favorite bomb was just a simple silver I did in the soto yard. I was painting with another female SHE and some other chicks were with us, I was painting the at the bottom of the yard and was looking up seeing some dudes in the yard painting also. I got a little agitated that one of the dudes painting there was capping a bomb I had running there. So I watched for a second and walked up there. I hit him and his homie up and told the dude he was going over me. He laughed and I admit I got heated. I told the dude either he left now and saved his paint or he could waste it and I would just cap him as soon as it dried. I don’t think he believed me because he kept at it. I waited and sure enough as he walked away I lined his shit. His face was priceless, the bomb I went over him with was better than the one I had there so it was in my favor. About a week later the bomb was on front page of some graff site.

6.     Describe your style, do you display femininity in your work or do you keep it gender neutral? Why or why not?

I say neutral, I would try and use bright colors at times because I was a girl. But when I met dudes a lot would say they thought I was a dude. I always thought it was my baggy clothes and butch haircut that landed the male questions. I tried to stay away from the girly shit, tried … I never wanted to be known as a female artist I feel it’s like some plee for some extra unearned recognition because theres so few and some girls use being a female as some boost to get some easier judgment. I just wanted to be a writer. 

7.     Describe your best and worst experiences painting.

My favorite times were always the times that went wrong, downtown LA was always my favorite that I have the most stories from. One night I went with the homie and we carried a bible with us to look discreet I guess, I was reading through some of it and we heard this deep creepy voice coming from bums across the street and I swear to this day me and the homie were listening to this voice/bum recite out loud what I was reading… We tripped and booked it.. haha I’ll never forget how scared we were. The worst time was painting behind some cemetery and I was walking solo and I slipped on some rocks and one of my feet landed in mud and sewage or mold or some nasty shit and I lost my shoe! I still remember walking up to the homies without a shoe and painting barefoot and the long walk on the track with a cold foot, pretty bad.

8.     Any other artists that you look up to? If so, why?

I look up to quite a few so I’ll only mention the ones I feel closer to. First off the one who brought me up a lot was ROTEN SKA, real humble dude, great artist some of the cleanest pieces I’ve seen. He taught me everything, put up with my tantrums when I would throw cans because I went bipolar a few times because I didn’t grasp onto the cleanliness of the task too quickly. I owe him a lot we had some of the craziest times painting with each other, a lot of  dope stories, we made a dope duo for awhile. We fed off eachother’s constructive criticism. But he taught me what LA graffiti was and I just ran with it. FEAR DCV UTI, my other teacher. My style was never influenced by him but he was the head of my crew and had a blast with him even if we bumped heads. He always brought me around and introduced me to so many OGs from LA, and hearing stories of the good ol days were some of the best times for me in my life period. He’s like family, like an Uncle, let me crash whenever family life was hectic so I thank him for a lot also. I was also very thankful to be real close with one of my favorite writers CAB, that dude taught me a lot. I was never really star struck by an artist but painting with him when I did I admit I felt dope ha! He’s the most humble cat in the game and a huge influence on my stuff. We always agreed that bombing was always more fun, he’s another that stories were priceless to me. Lastly, the artist I have and always will look up to MOST  is Panic otr uti sh lod stp uca rtdk td12 fb wnt cwa arc , super humble dude and his graffiti blows my mind. I don’t care how many pics you show me and whats being done now but LA GRAFFITI is PANIC to me. He was always real cool to me and great on advice one of the first to recognize me as a female writer which I was hyped about at the time.

9.     Favorite kind of paint? Surface?

Free paint was always my favorite, but specifically I liked the Rusto Whites, Walmart Silvers, Montana Silvers, Krylons Ultra Flat Black, Killz White, Montanas Fever Red. Anything that covered well and you didn’t have to keep going over.  I loved bombing trains and walls…I was stuck to the LA river and soto yard mostly, just because I liked going solo I felt safe there. I went there many times solo to blow off some steam and paint. Train yards were always fun, the best part rolling up and wondering how many lines were parked waiting.

10.  How do you feel as a female in a majorly male dominated culture?

I never had an issue with it, I mean it’s like life in general mostly everything is dominated by a certain group isn’t it? I never liked chilling with females anyways so I actually preferred it. I learned a lot from every dude I met. I hated the drama and gossip, but as a female I felt I was the little sister to a bunch of crazy ass brothers and I wasn’t to be fucked with. I enjoyed it, many dudes I rolled with taught me a lot from a male perspective and felt in life it helped me a lot, a more cold hearted frame of thinking. I got my street smarts and life smarts from the males. Plus, there wasn’t too many girls doing much with it…. I never did as much as I wanted to either. I got pregnant had a kid and I left. I felt at a certain point graffiti was like a slut, I had my way with it, did what I wanted with it, and dropped it. I had bigger dreams for myself and as much I respect it, just felt I personally wasn’t going anywhere with it.  But oddly enough I give graffiti a lot of respect, was the greatest part of my life I enjoy speaking about.

11.  Do you think female graff artists are getting the recognition they deserve?

Yes and no. I think the ones who were worth mentioning yes. The only females that deserve recognition are ones who are original artists, ones who got their hands dirty and would tag solo and not just and for some males attention. I don’t know any female writers these days to say no this girl isn’t. The baddest bitches in LA  graffiti already did their work. I would love to see a new graff female do a bunch of dirt and wow us, but I just don’t see it. Take it as a positive challenge….

12.  What are your views on graffiti art being displayed in galleries? Do you think this legitimizes graff, or commercializes it?

I think it’s dope. I don’t go to many art shows unless I know graffiti is the topic. I think graffiti being included in galleries is a positive for many starving artists. Many artists have this as their only way to eat and I support it 100%. I just think the newer art is garbage like the whole Bansky and Obey cats. I hate that shit, that’s what kills it for me is gallery shows like that. Like I said before I like the raw graffiti, I don’t care if its some basic clean letters just make it look dope display it and if you can make a buck for a cheeseburger why not? Normal people don’t get we have pioneers in this scene and a lot of artists struggle because all they have is graffiti and they should be able to feed themselves and children with what they do!

13.  Tell us one random fact about you!

 I have freakishly small hands, that made it hard to hold cans at times.

14.  Anything else you’d like to share with our readers?

MUCH RESPECT TO ALL THE PEOPLE I’VE MET THROUGH LA GRAFFITI. ALL THE FRIENDS AND ENEMIES I’VE MADE, ALL WORTH IT. REST IN PEACE TO GYROE AND SAEL DCV AND TO THE RECENT PASSINGS OF EVAK, GIL, AND DASH.

“I started painting in 1996 because one of my homeboys said I couldn’t do it. So to prove him wrong… I got up more than he did!”

“Why ‘fetish?’ I have a foot fetish. Sad but true!”

“I feel comfortable being in a ‘male sport.’ Although most of my friends may be males. I have a feminine side that I’m proud of and I express that in my art.”

“I’m currently involved with UAII (United American Indian, Inc.) a private, non-profit Native American organization which offers a variety of health and human services to American Indians and Alaskan Natives living in the Los Angeles area. I, myself, am an alumnus of their Wellbriety movement, which focuses on individual healing through ceremony and family.”

Click here to learn more about UAII.

This is probably old news to you graffheads or DTLA regulars, but Sand’s mural installation (on 3rd & Main) was buffed shortly after it was completed in late February. Although Sand had permission from the property owner to paint the mural, according to Sand, the Sheriff’s Department said it was “offensive to the community.” 
But we don’t understand how the artwork was “offensive to the community” because it was, in actuality, a community-based project.

“I let some of the locals watching me paint help me fill-in the artwork,” said Sand. “It felt good to teach them something new and get the community involved.”

The mural was sponsored by local/small businesses in the community: Conart, MonicaMichelle, 1000bikes.org, Legends Barbershop and Lick it B4 U Stick It (blunt wraps)

Okay, so enough with the bad news. What’s the good news?

Sand’s first and upcoming week-long solo exhibition: “Bow Ties”

“Bow Ties” will feature Sand’s signature ultra-feminine and hood “Sand Chikz” in a different light. Each Sand Chik will be dressed in a tuxedo, symbolizing class, authority and power; three characteristics people often associate with masculinity and wealth. In “Bow Ties” Sand One’s underlying theme seeks to liberate gender-biased characteristics often imposed on women while also questioning the relationship between street art, fine art and the arts institution: Embracing feminine graffiti art as fine art.

The artwork for the show, currently being created, will be auctioned and partial proceeds will benefit the Venice Public Art Walls, managed by In Creative Unity, a graffiti arts advocacy group and leaders of the movement to preserve the walls as a living memorial to high quality graffiti-style art.